JUBA,
South Africa
South Sudan’s Vice President, Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior has tested positive for Covid-19. Nyandeng, who is in charge of the gender and youth cluster, confirmed the result to our reporter this afternoon.
Nyandeng,
the widow of the late John Garang de Mabior, is the latest high-profile figure
in South Sudan to test positive for Covid-19.
The
Vice President said she has placed herself in isolation to monitor her health
condition from home. "I am feeling well now. My oxygen level is good, it
is just the cough and the sore throat," Vice President Nyandeng said while
speaking from her residence in Nairobi, Kenya on Thursday.
Nyandeng
urged South Sudan citizens to adhere to the laid-out regulations aimed at curbing
further spread of the deadly virus in the country. She also called on the
government to embark on creating awareness campaigns among the people on the
danger of Covid-19.
According
to the Vice President, many people have contracted Covid-19 in South Sudan
because they don’t adhere to preventive measures.
"People
have to know that this disease is a killer disease, and it has come to stay
with us. We need to know how to live with it by adhering to the Covid-19
protocols like wearing a facemask," Rebecca Nyandeng said. "When you
have symptoms of cough and flu, the first thing you should do is to test
Covid-19, don’t rush to test malaria first."
Chat
Paul Nul, the executive director in Nyandeng’s office, said: "I think she
got the disease from Nairobi because when she left South Sudan she was fine.
She is currently at home and in a very stable condition, so there is no need to
worry at all."
South
Sudan has registered 9,768 Covid-19 infections and 106 deaths, according to
data from the National Ministry of Health.
In
February this year, more 20 employees at the president’s office tested positive
for Covid-19. The president’s office was prompted to dismiss speculation that
President Salva Kiir Mayardit had contracted the virus.
South
Sudan registered its first Covid-19 case on April 5, 2020.
Eelier
this month, the National Taskforce on Covid-19 extended the national partial
lockdown for one more month, listing several punitive measures including fines
against violators. The task force chairman Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi
Akol said the extension runs through April 3, 2021.
No comments:
Post a Comment